The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. 291 



At some remarkable periods when it has assumed its most 

 terrific forms, something strongly resembling the electric 

 chain of the thunder cloud has been observed : If we add to 

 these facts, the late discoveries of the French philosophers, of 

 the effects of those lights on the magnetic needle, there can 

 be little doubt as to the nature of the agent that produces 

 the northern lights. The next question ; How comes there 

 to be such an accumulation of electricity toward the nor- 

 thern pole, and by what means does it ascend to produce the 

 alleged effect — is an enquiry of vastly more difficult solution, 

 and on the correct and clear explanation of the causes pro- 

 ducing these effects, depends the whole of this hypothesis. 



Before I proceed farther in developing the theory, I would 

 remark, that the different kinds of minerals, although found 

 combined with others, in various forms, and scattered by the 

 convulsions of nature, over the whole globe, still abound 

 (whether agreeably to some established law, I will not pre- 

 tend to decide,) in particular regions, and are in a great meas- 

 ure absent from other regions. For instance, gold, silver, pla- 

 tina and quick silver, although found in other zones, are partic- 

 ularly abundant in the tropical regoins ; copper, lead and tin 

 occupy the latitudes next north ; iron, (except meteoric,) is the 

 native product of the northern regions. In the further dis- 

 cussion of this subject, I shall assume as historically true, the 

 following mineralogical facts. First, that south of the equa- 

 tor, there are not to be found any considerable masses of iron 

 under any form; our knowledge as to the mineralogy of a 

 portion of those regions, is admitted to be extremely limited. 

 So far as those regions on this continent have been explored 

 by Humboldt and other modern travellers, no masses of this 

 mineral have been discovered, nor as far as our knowledge 

 extends, have we any reason to believe, that any such mass- 

 es are to be found on the eastern continent. The next fact 

 assumed is, that no great masses of iron, are to be found 

 within 32° north of the equator ; that near that point the 

 iron region commences and continues northerly as far as 

 the land continues, towards the north pole, the great- 

 est accumulation being between the 45th and 65th de- 

 grees of north latitude. As to all purposes of this discus- 

 sion, this iron region may be considered, as a world by 

 itself, and the centre of electrical attraction, in other words, 

 the theory is this, tha^ th«;- electric fluid is gradually drawn off 

 from the clouds and incumbent atmosphere by the peaks of 



